


When Nightmares Paint Reality

by dragonwings948



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Feels, Friendship, Heart-to-Heart, Lightsaber Battles, Mortis (Star Wars), Nightmares, Post-Episode: s03e17 Ghosts of Mortis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-23 04:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20236603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: After a near-death experience, Anakin was always there to talk through it with Ahsoka; even after what happened on Mortis.





	When Nightmares Paint Reality

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to MY FIRST STAR WARS FIC!! *air horn* (If you don’t want random background info, feel free to skip to the fic. Enjoy!) 
> 
> I’ve always been kind of scared to write Star Wars because I feel like there’s so much terminology and lore you have to get right?? Therefore, only writing about Ahsoka and Anakin could conquer that fear. 
> 
> I started watching Clone Wars when it first came out and LOVED it, but didn’t keep up with it after Season 2/3 or so because I became a busy high schooler(TM) and didn’t have time. In preparation for the new season, I decided to watch the whole series all the way through and YOU GUYS I totally forgot how much I loved Ahsoka and Anakin, and I was not prepared for the feels. This fic happened. That’s about it.

The journey to the Republic cruiser was eerily silent. 

Ahsoka found herself still trying grapple with the feeling like she had lost something now that they had left Mortis. There, the Force had been so strong and so close that it had almost been something tangible holding onto her. Now, it was like coming back to the ground after feeling the freedom of flight. She wondered if Anakin and Obi-Wan felt the same way. 

For once, Anakin flew and docked their ship without incident. Obi-Wan had no comment to make on Anakin’s flying. And Ahsoka was too distracted to notice when they landed. 

Obi-Wan was the first to recover himself as they stepped off the ship. Rex greeted them in the hangar, and Obi-Wan took the job of explaining, as best he could, what had happened to them. If Rex thought the explanation was an odd one, he didn’t show it. He asked Obi-Wan for confirmation that their help wasn’t needed. 

“No, we’re clear to go back to Coruscant.” Like an afterthought, he muttered, “I must speak to the Council immediately.” He stroked his beard, lost in his own thoughts for a moment. He recovered quickly, however, and informed Rex that they would be taking their own ship back in order to make better time. 

“How much are you going to tell them?” Anakin asked as they boarded the ship again. Ahsoka barely registered their conversation, so caught up was she in her musings. 

Obi-Wan frowned, his brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. I need to meditate on what has happened, if you can handle the flying.” 

Anakin nodded. “Of course.” He nudged Ahsoka with his shoulder. “Come on, Snips. We’re up.” 

The point of contact shook Ahsoka from her own meditations. She followed Anakin to the cockpit and took her place beside him, while Obi-Wan sealed himself in the back room.

Once again, silence reigned. Ahsoka’s mind was brimming with questions, and the anger and confusion she sensed rolling off of her Master only heightened her uneasiness. 

“You’ve been quiet,” Anakin commented after a little while. “I can feel your discomfort.” 

“A lot has happened that I don’t understand.” She stared out the viewport, unable to meet Anakin’s eyes. Flashes of things went through her head, memories that passed by too quickly for her to grab onto. The glow of Anakin’s lightsaber in her face, a feeling of something sick and evil flowing through her, and then a bright, unquenchable light…

“I don’t think any of us really understand. That’s why Obi-Wan is meditating. It may take time before we begin to comprehend our adventure on Mortis.” Though his voice was level and calm, his heightened emotions were too obvious to be missed. 

Still, it took her a moment to ask. She wasn’t sure how her Master would react. “Was it about you?” she finally asked, her voice soft. 

Ahsoka risked a glance over at him when he didn’t respond. She noticed his hands tightening around the controls. His eyes darkened. 

She continued, “They kept saying something about you being the ‘Chosen One,’ that you were going to bring balance. You and Master Obi-Wan seemed to know what it meant.”

Anakin sighed. “I do know what it means, but I’m still not sure if I believe it.” He paused, eyebrows furrowing in consideration. 

“Well? Want to share?” 

To her surprise, Anakin’s steely gaze cut her to the core. “This isn’t a joke, Ahsoka. It either means Master Qui-Gon was misguided, or the fate of the galaxy is at stake, but it’s not a joke.” 

Ahsoka nodded, humbled. “I understand. You mentioned Master Qui-Gon? Wasn’t he Obi-Wan’s Master?” 

“Yes.” His gaze softened, and Ahsoka thought he almost even smiled. “And he was the one who found me.” 

“On Tatooine,” Ahsoka clarified. She didn’t know much about Anakin’s past, but she did know that much. 

Anakin replied with a single short nod. “Obi-Wan told me that Master Qui-Gon studied the ancient prophecies. It was a hobby of his. There’s one prophecy that refers to a Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force.” 

Ahsoka put two and two together. “And Master Qui-Gon thought it was you?” 

“It’s the only reason the Council allowed me to be trained at such an old age. With his last words, he told Obi-Wan to train me.” 

Ahsoka took a moment to reflect. Her Master - impulsive, brash, arrogant - the one to bring peace to the galaxy? 

“But I’ve read some of the prophecies,” she said. “They’re so vague that they could mean anything.” 

“I know. That’s why I’m not sure if I believe it.” 

Ahsoka leaned back in her chair and thought some more. She had seen with her own eyes how Anakin had controlled the Son and the Daughter - the Dark and the Light - to save her and Obi-Wan. She had never seen or felt that kind of raw power in anyone, and it had actually been a little terrifying. 

Could it be that that was Anakin’s destiny? 

“Ahsoka?” 

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Yes, Master?” 

“Do you mind it when I call you Snips?” 

Ahsoka blinked, the question catching her off guard. “Not as long as I can call you Skyguy.” 

He seemed to ease back into a lighter mood as he smiled and let out a short chuckle. “Fair enough, Snips.” 

————————————

Darkness haunted Ahsoka’s dreams. 

Anakin was always there. Sometimes Obi-Wan. Sometimes a grown-up version of herself, come to warn her again. 

Words echoed in her head, always in her own voice, but twisted somehow. Angry. Bitter. Anakin’s voice always responded calmly. 

But then there always came a moment where she attacked him. 

Her actions were fuelled by hate, but in the small part of her that understood what her dream-self was doing, something unsettling stabbed her gut when her lightsabers clashed with her Master’s. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop it. Sometimes, she was looking on and watching her duel with Anakin. Other times, she was inside her own rage-filled body, screaming at herself to stop. 

One time the dream ended as Anakin was forced to kill her, the pain in his expression so tangible that it had haunted her all day. Another time she had been the one to overpower him, and she stabbed him with no remorse. Yet, when she had woken up, her face had been sticky with tears. 

The worst part about the nightmares was that she could feel that they were more than dreams. Something else had happened to her on Mortis; something that Obi-Wan and Anakin hadn’t told her. 

She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know. 

Worst of all, Ahsoka hadn’t been put on a new assignment yet. She would have jumped at the chance to occupy her mind with a mission, but instead Anakin and Obi-Wan spent long hours with the Council, and no one paid her any mind. 

She found herself looking into some of the ancient prophecies. After her conversation with Anakin, she was intrigued by this whole “Chosen One” thing. 

“Never thought I’d find you in here.” 

Anakin’s voice startled Ahsoka. She quickly cleared her screen of the prophecies she’d been studying and turned to see her master wearing his signature smirk. 

“I thought you said you’d had enough of the library when the Council stuck you here,” he continued. 

Ahsoka shrugged, trying to act casual. “I had some studying I wanted to do.” She stood up, hopeful. “Do we have a mission?”

“No, but I thought you might like to do some sparring.” 

Ahsoka’s dreams instantly came back to her, and she found herself speechless at the thought of finding herself fighting against Anakin in reality. 

“...or not,” Anakin amended, his brow crinkling in concern. 

“No, no.” Ahsoka put a hand to her head. “I’d like that. Better than sitting around here, anyway.” 

“Okay. As long as you’re sure.” 

———————————-

Ahsoka took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She gripped her lightsaber tighter, feeling it begin to shift in her slick grasp. 

Anakin’s face came back to her in her dream. Only now did she put a name to the emotion she had seen in his eyes:  _ fear.  _ But not fear of failure, or fear of her; rather, it was fear  _ for  _ her. 

When she opened her eyes, she put her thoughts behind her.  _ Concentrate.  _

“Ready?” Anakin called from the other end of the ring. 

“Whenever you are, Master.” 

_ Focus. Put your mind on the present,  _ she told herself. 

Anakin rushed at her, swinging his lightsaber up over his head. Ahsoka blocked his blow with one of her lightsabers. Their weapons hummed as they clashed. 

Ahsoka breathed out and let her instincts take over. She knew how to fight Anakin. His style was aggressive and straightforward; all she had to do was stay nimble and quick to block him effectively. 

She pulled back from their locked sabers and ducked beneath Anakin’s blade, rolling behind him as he staggered from the loss of force. Anakin spun to face her just as she sprung to her feet and engaged her in a series of rapid attacks that pushed her backwards in her efforts to block them. She could sense the wall at her back closing in and knew that it would mean her defeat. 

As Anakin pushed on with another blow, careful not to lean too much weight into it this time, Ahsoka pushed back hard and used the effort as a springboard to flip over his head. As she landed, she pulled out her other lightsaber and ignited it. Letting the Force course through her to boost her run, she caught Anakin off guard as he turned around. The force of her assault pinned him against the wall. He grit his teeth as she bore down on him. 

And in one moment, at one glance of his face, Ahsoka’s concentration was broken. As Anakin struggled against her, all she could see was his face in her dream, betrayal and worry highlighted by the glow of her own lightsabers. 

The next thing Ahsoka knew, she was on the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Anakin stood over her with her unarmed lightsabers in his hand. 

“You’re distracted.” Somehow, he managed to sound concerned and smug at the same time. “What’s troubling you?” 

Ahsoka sat up, staring at the ground. “Nothing, Master.” She knew he would see right through that, so she added, “I think maybe I need to spend some more time in meditation like Master Obi-Wan suggested.” 

Anakin sighed and sat down beside her. He handed her back her lightsabers. “You know, sometimes the Jedi like to make you think that you can only solve problems on your own.” 

“Well that’s what you do, isn’t it?” 

Anakin blinked. “Uh...I guess so. But it’s not always…” He frowned as he tried to find a word. “...healthy.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “There’s a reason why Jedi aren’t alone. There’s always master and apprentice. Some things aren’t meant to be solved by yourself.” 

Ahsoka looked up at him. To anyone else, her dreams would seem foolish. It wasn’t the first time. And to make herself look weak to Anakin? Unthinkable. 

“Ahsoka.” He squeezed her shoulder gently. “It’s about what happened on Mortis, isn’t it?” 

Finally, she broke her defences down. “Sort of,” she admitted, and even saying that much lifted a weight off her chest. “I keep having dreams. I’m always attacking you, and Master Obi-Wan too. They feel almost like memories, but...I don’t remember them.” She shrunk away from his touch. “Did I...did I really do that? Did it actually happen?” 

Anakin withdrew his touch. “Obi-Wan and I thought it might be best to leave that out, but I see that you discerned it for yourself.”

“Tell me what happened.” 

He shifted into a cross-legged position, as if about to meditate. “You remember being captured?” 

“Yes. The Brother took me and put me in chains. Next thing I knew, I was waking up with you there.” 

“He did something to you.” Anakin’s hands tightened into fists. Ahsoka realised that he had assumed the meditation position to remain calm, but it didn’t seem to be helping much. “Something evil. He twisted you with the Dark Side.” 

A shudder rippled down Ahsoka’s spine. She could feel that what he said was true. 

“He used you against Obi-Wan and me,” Anakin continued. “We had no choice but to fight you. You wouldn’t listen to anything we said. And when the Brother was done with you…” Anakin paused, and Ahsoka chanced a glance at him to see hatred burning in his eyes. “He drained the life out of you and tossed you aside.” 

Ahsoka struggled to grasp the fractions of memories that came with his words. “You mean I—”

“Yes,” he cut her off briskly. He took a deep breath, then went on. “The Sister sacrificed herself to save the Father from the Brother. Before she died, she allowed. me to transfer her remaining life energy to you. She saved you.” 

Ahsoka had a vague recollection of light flowing through her, purging her of the darkness. But it wasn’t the Sister’s hand that had poured it into her; it was Anakin’s. 

_ “You _ saved me,” she amended, meeting his gaze. 

He shrugged, the shadow of a smile twitching at his lips. “I might’ve helped a little.” Though he tried to shrug it off, Ahsoka saw the depth of his care in his eyes. Her heart warmed at the sight. 

But the next moment, her spirit sunk again. “I’m sorry, Master.”

Anakin raised an eyebrow. “For what?” 

“I failed you. If I would’ve been strong enough—”

Anakin shook his head. “None of us were strong enough to defeat the Brother on our own. You have nothing to be sorry about.” He met her eyes with a stern gaze, and she knew he was going to give her an order. “Don’t let it trouble you any longer.” 

Ahsoka nodded in agreement. “I won’t, Master.” 

Anakin smiled and unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. “Rematch?” 

Ahsoka matched his grin. “You bet.”    
  



End file.
